Alberta to host Canadian National Championships

You are invited… To participate in the 2008 Canadian Rocky Mountain Challenge!


Come enjoy down home Alberta hospitality in the scenic foothills of the Rocky Mountains July 30 – Aug 4, 2008! We are very excited to announce that Alberta has been selected by CaLDRA and Endurance Canada to host the 2008 Competitive Trail, Endurance and Ride N’ Tie Canadian National Championships.


This multi-day equine event will be held at the beautiful Red Deer River Ranches, near Sundre, Alberta. The ranch boasts 1,000 acres of private land that is directly connected to over 50,000 acres of grazing lease. The majority of the land is open forest/range-land. There are numerous creeks to cross and ride along. Trails consist of open terrain, heavily wooded areas, logging routes and wildlife paths in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. This area is also known for its population of wild horses. Truly a ‘wild west’ location!


In addition to the National competitions, gorgeous scenery, ample camping space, catering, and souvenirs, many other family friendly activities will be made available. Amenities such as grocery, gas, restaurants, tourist attractions, hospital, etc. are located nearby in the town of Sundre. The community is warmly opening their arms to our Nationals visitors and welcomes you!


While there will be Provincial Team competitions (you will need to nominate you and your horse to your regional riding club), there is opportunity to ride as an individual in a variety of categories:


Competitive Trail:

– Novice Division 25 mile

– Intermediate Division 40 mile

– Open Division 80 miles over 2 days. Day one is pending as an AHA 40 mile ride.


Endurance (pending AERC sanctioning):

– 25 mile

– 50 mile FEI 2* including Junior and Young Riders. Pending as AHA ride.

– 100 mile FEI 3* including Junior and Young Riders


Ride N’ Tie:

– 10 mile

– 20 mile


Special Feature Competition – a relay race still in the works though will resemble the Pony Express.


We also look forward to welcoming individuals who will be able to offer their time and expertise in volunteering for this event.


There will be Opening and Closing Ceremonies including a Dinner and Awards Banquet – guaranteed to be very memorable. We promise an entertaining and exhilarating week of celebration.


Keep your eyes open for the launch of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Challenge Website www.canadiannationals.org, which will keep you informed of schedule of events, attractions, accommodations, etc. closer to the date of the Nationals. In the meantime, feel free to contact Sandra Nielsen (Phone: 403-637-0245 or Email: sandra.nielsen@xplornet.com) with any questions.


Thank you and see you next summer!

FEI CEI*** Competitions: FEI Passports and Registrations

Announcement from USEF:

All horses ridden by Senior riders at CEI 3* rides in this country must have an FEI passport next year (2008). We will not be allowed to accept National Passports for 3* events.

I am discussing with the FEI whether Young Riders will be required to ride FEI passported horses at 3* events. I will pass that information on to you.

Horses entered in 1* and 2* events do not need a passport.

Rider and Horse FEI registrations must be sent to USEF at least 3 weeks before a competition, and will not be accepted at the competition. You should make this clear in your flyers and on your websites. This includes all distances and all ages. (riders under 18 do not have to pay the 15. fee for their registration – but they must fill out the form and send it in to get a #)

Vonita Bowers
Endurance Director
USEF

California Wildfires, Git-R-Done Endurance Ride Organizers Lose Home

Several wildfires are burning out of control in southern California, driven by Santa Anna winds with sustained wind speeds of 20-30 mph, and gusts up to 60mph.

Organizers of the October 27 Inyokern, CA Endurance ride Tammy and Charlie Robinson were forced to evacuate their home outside of Saugus as the fires overtook their property. They are currently staying at the home of their daughter Charlene Lewis of Leona Valley Riding Center.

Charlene reported on the situation:

"We have some bad news! We are canceling Git-R-Done ride due to some extremely unfortunate events, as today my parents home has burnt, Tammy and Charlie Robinson. We were barely able to get all 11 horses out, 5 dogs, 1 goat, and 2 cats. All the chickens and birds and 4 other cats did not make it. We just didn’t have enough time! As we were pulling out the driveway the trees and shop was on fire that’s adjacent to the home. Not a single fire truck in site, it was the most hopeless feeling! As most of you know this was a family built home and a lot of heart and soul went into it. Many of you have been there at the X-mas party. This is a huge loss and extremely sad for my family. We will not be putting on the Git-R-Done ride so please contact your friends and spread the word. My family is here at my ranch now. If you really have to contact me for any questions. All checks will be cancelled if they are not burnt already."

California fire officials caution residents that the winds are predicted to continue for at least another day and to have an evacuation plan in place if need be.

Endurance Expo rolls into Auburn Saturday

Auburn Journal

By: Jenna Nielsen, Journal Staff Writer
Thursday, October 18, 2007

Auburn's Endurance Expo won't just be a big party on the street this year.

Organizers of the expo, set for Saturday at the Gold Country Fairgrounds, have implemented a few changes this year.

"We changed the format," said Bridget Powers, chairwoman of the Auburn Endurance Capital Committee. "Last year, the event was more of a celebratory street party. This year will be more like an actual expo, where you have clinics, speakers and vendors."

The free expo is open to the public and will celebrate this year's main endurance events such as the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, Tevis Cup 100-Mile One Day Ride, Auburn International Triathlon and the Cool Mountain Bike Race, as well as many top endurance athletes in the area.

More than 40 vendors featuring biking, running, horseback riding and paddling gear will set up in the Armory Building of the Gold Country Fairgrounds.

The expo will also feature a multimedia show with photos and videos of this past year's main endurance events, food booths, an endurance sports bar with beer, wine and TVs, a silent auction and a raffle.

Free color posters will be available at the expo along with a signing table featuring many local endurance champions including Tim Twietmeyer, Hal Hall, Gordon Ainsleigh, Trent Klasna, Potato Richardson, Brad Kearns, Kathie Perry and Jimmie Brown.

Experts and professionals from the fields of running, biking, riding and rafting will be on hand to answer questions and offer clinics at the expo. Endurance games for kids, a climbing wall, raffle, silent auction, music and food can also be found at the expo.

"It's a lot of fun getting to see all the new stuff involving bikes, running, riding and rafting," said Lisa Kodl, owner of Auburn Bike Works and vendor at the expo. "Looking at all the footage from past endurance events is also fun. It's chance to see things you usually aren't able to because they happen in the middle of the endurance trail."

Kodl will have a booth at the expo and will be sponsoring valet bike parking.

"Anyone who want to ride their bike to the event will have a place to park it and someone to watch over it," Kodl said.

Powers said the expo will also provide a chance for residents to find out what's available in Auburn.

"A lot of people don't realize how much there is to do in Auburn," Powers said. "If you want to find out every possible outdoor activity there is to do in the foothills, everyone will be there that day."

The Journal's Jenna Nielsen can be reached at jennan@goldcountrymedia.com or comment on this story at auburnjournal.com.

"Miracle" Of Hydrotherapy Heals, Strengthens Horses

(Left) David Voyles and his daughter, Lindsey, with retired champion Sahara at the start of a water-resistance exercise session. (Right) Sahara and Voyles, along with Miracle Farms owners Reg and Virginia Steele.

Nestled at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in eastern Shelby County, in an area abundant with equine-oriented estates and subdivisions, is a small building that houses one of the latest innovations in restoring the health of ill and injured horses.

About eight months ago, Miracle Farms owners Reg and Virginia Steele and the facility's manager, David Voyles, installed an AquaPacer Equine Underwater Treadmill and began helping horses recover from injury, regain mobility following surgery, and increase strength and endurance with an equine version of water aerobics.

When the Steeles purchased the property just a few years ago, the 16 acres of Miracle Farms was basically raw land with only the shell of a home under construction. Now, the house is finished, the surrounding acreage is beautifully landscaped, there is a first-class outdoor arena with all the accoutrement required for hunter-jumper riding, and a 7-stall barn sits just a few paces away from the hydrotherapy center. The unit is one of only four of its type in U.S., and the closest ones to Memphis are located at the University of Kentucky and the University of Mississippi.

The unit is designed to help animals recover more quickly from orthopedic surgeries, soft tissue injuries, provide relief from back and other muscular soreness, and for general conditioning and muscle development. The treadmill operates at speeds up to 7 miles an hour, and treatment or training is achieved through a specific combination of treadmill speed, water depth, and workout time.

Using hydrotherapy results in a 50% decrease in healing time and conditioning time, according to Voyles, and often more than that. "The main thing is the speed. All that healing time and conditioning time that you don't have to tie your horse up," he says. "Give me two weeks, and I'll give you a month's worth of impact...It doesn't matter which breed or which discipline they're in, it's effective for all of them." With regard to conditioning, he says that some "...want to leave their horse here for two weeks while they're gone on vacation. We can double the effect."

Miracle Farms existed in a previous incarnation as place where city kids could come to learn about nature and get some exposure to farm animals and biology, and when the Steeles relocated they asked themselves "...how do we fit into the equine community, what do we do? The name was already there, and we didn't want to 'compete.' And we said 'That (name) is perfect. We can create new opportunities and miracles for horses that have had bad experiences or just really need something that can take them to the next level. So the name kind of led us...to the hydrotherapy...We call it 'an aquatic retreat for horses.'" An it is a very nice one, but it should be noted that nearly all of the 'clients' are referred by veterinarians or professional trainers.

That restorative mission seems perfectly suited to both the Steeles and Voyles. The Steeles are engaged in the medical industry, Voyles received extensive medical training in the military, and all three share a genuine love for horses. In fact, they met as a result of their daughters riding together at Spring Hill Stables, where he was the manager and the Steeles board some of their horses.

The stable is a real model facility, featuring a separate room where feed and medications are stored and charted, tack room, an office for David and a completely furnished apartment with full kitchen for use by vets, trainers or owners who have a horse being treated or trained at the farm. Two of the stalls double as a foaling unit, with a sliding door that separates them.

"If you're going to create an environment where you're going to recondition horses you've got to start with the basics," Reg Steele said. "It's got to be clean and well-vented, and well organized.," and Voyles keeps the building in a condition that can only be described as "pristine." In addition to the stalls, there are a half-dozen paddocks, some with run-ins, scattered around the property in close proximity to the barn. "We're set up to whatever we need to do to accomodate the horses," says David. "It's a clean, stress-free environment." The facility provides full board during treatment and training.

In a building about the size of a double garage sits the 1000-gallon tank, which is linked to an outside, sealed holding tank. The system has a non-chlorinated double filtration system and is temperature controlled "...just like a swimming pool," says Voyles. "It's in a continuous filtering cycle."

The animals are meticulously bathed and their hooves cleaned before they enter the unit, to prevent the introduction of dirt and other debris. It takes approximately 15 minutes to completely fill the tank but that's rarely done, unless treatment for a condition calls for the horse to be totally "floated." At very low water levels the unit provides mostly resistance, but as the depth increases the benefits begin to include reduced weight-bearing and impact, along with hydrostatic pressure to reduce swelling.

On this day, the lucky recipient of the poolplay is Sahara, a 16-year old retired National Champion from the hunter-jumper arena. He appeared to be completely at ease with being led into the chamber, and didn't display any nervousness during the roughly five-minute workout. The V-shaped tank has hinged doors at both ends, and the treadmill is only inches off the floor with gradual ramps leading in one end and out the other. It is situated so the animals can look out over one of the farm's paddocks through a set of wide double doors, which helps keep them calm as they get used to the swirling water and the hum of a powerful pump. The layout also permits trailers to back up right to the exit from the tank.

Virginia says the first couple of times a horse encounters the machinery, they can be a bit wary, as though they're wondering "..what in the heck are you asking me to do?" But they quickly become accustomed to the process and the real performance horses realize they have the opportunity to do what they were born to do, in spite of any injury or health condition. "The ones that really like to work, when they experience this and get into it, they love it," she says.

Anyone considering the filtration system might naturally wonder, what about those inconvenient "pool accidents" that happen from time to time, especially given the casual attitude of horse with regard to that sort of thing. Well, it takes at least two to guide a horse through the routine and one of them is the designated "pooper scooper," armed with fine mesh net mounted on a long handle.

The general conditioning regimen typically begins with 5-minute sessions the first week, and builds to 10 minutes the second, 15 the third, and by the fourth week the workouts are up to 20 minutes. Voyles says most conditioning programs last four to six weeks. Injury-related therapy can involve routines as short as couple of minutes the first few times.

As odd as it may seem, Voyles says the deeper the water gets, the more an animal tends extends its step. "You'd think, as it gets deeper, they would sort of start short-stepping, but the more drag there is, the faster they go and they tend to lengthen their stride."

Virginia says the conditioning regimen is not intended to replace trainers who would normally ride those horses, but does serve a very useful purpose in "complement(ing) the existing equine community...we don't want to compete with any existing organization...We're a small, private farm. We can give one-on-one attention to the animals, their owners and the vets, which is really our objective...We want to complement the existing equine community, which is why we went with the treadmill, because there's just not one here...There's a large horse community here that has a need for this, so we're excited about it."

She also noted that injured horses who would most benefit from water therapy would previously have been referred to out-of-state veterinarians during the treatment process. That puts them out from under the direct supervision of the "family doctor" who knows them best. Having hydrotherapy available locally lets both owners and vets keep a constant eye in the progress being made. "It really gives a contiuum of care here in Memphis that's been unavailable in the past," says Virginia. "It allows the horse's regular veterinarian to see what is being accomplished, rather than relying on the judgement of someone else, and adjusting the program as needed in the best interest of the animal."

That unbroken stream can mean a lot to an owner in terms of fewer medical fees and reduced transportation cost and effort.

Animals undergoing therapy or conditioning can actually be hooked up to certain monitoring eequipment while they are in the tank and Virginia noted that the arena, just a few feet away, provides a place for both vets and trainers to do some real-world testing of the results that have been achieved.

Since installing the unit, Miracle Farms has invited a number of regional vets to see a demonstration the system and discuss with them the possibilities for its use in the recuperative process.

And the system is not just for horses. While they haven't had occasion to use it with canines (and the company makes units designed for them), Virginia said the hydrotherapy unit would work just as well with dogs and other large animals and they would be happy to discuss the possibilities with owners or vets for treating illnesses like hip displasia. "We've got the biggest one, said Voyles, "so you can pretty much encompass anything."

Virginia jokes that she and some friends have talked about using the device for an exercise class, and David says that he has actually "tested the waters." "I've been in it, and it's work," he said. It's hard to imagine that anyone involved in sports or fitness wouldn't at least consider giving it a try.

Currently, Miracle Farms is only offering services centered around the hydrotherapy unit and some other rehabilitative equipment purchased from the same manufacturer. "We don't do any boarding, or training. At this point it's totally about being a therapeutic center for horses," says Virginia. "But we also have some other equipment...for icing injuries and compressing for fluid accumulation...The equipment is getting much more advanced, and we hope to build off the hydrotherapy and the other services that are therpeutic in nature." Voyles echoes those sentiments by noting that the focus helps keep things personal, which results in better care for the horses they do take in.

Virginia and David both stress that horses with injuries or surgery-related rehabilitative needs should be referred by a veterinarian, but that conditioning and strengthening cases are accepted as long as the animal's trainer is involved. "We're really not open to owners saying "I want to come out and have my horse swim," says Virginia. "We don't think that's in the best interest of the

owner or the trainer or the horse. It really needs to be directed by a professional. We know what we're doing, but we want them to say what their goal for the horse is, and each discipline and each trainer, and each rider has a different need."

She does note one case where they took on a horse without an official "referral," but the horse's regular veterinarian was heavily involved. The animal had a problem with overheating along with some serious gastric distress. "They just wanted to change his environment and get him in the water and cool him down every day. It wasn't really about an injury and it wasn't about conditioning." The owner found Miracle Farms through a friend, but the vet was soon part of the process and agreed the treatment might provide a needed alternative. "...and he improved," says Virginia. "He stayed here a month and we swam him and kept the fans on him..it was during that heat wave and he couldn't sweat, so we just cooled him down with the water and controlled his exercise."

Toward the end of his session Sahara gets some encouragement to keep "working harder." As the treadmill slows to a halt and the last of the water drains away, he gratefully accepts a few horsey treats and head rubs as reward for his effort before being led back to the barn by David's daughter, Lindsey. He's sporting a bit of perspiration on his brow and there's that trace of muscle quiver that many athletes exhibit following a good workout, and he seems a lot more energized than when he first walked up the low ramp.

For more information on hydrotherapy for horses, you can contact Miracle Farms at 901-753-0747 or visit their web site at http://www.MiracleFarms.org. For more information on the Ferno AquaPacer, visit their site at http://www.fernovetsystems.com/equine/aquapacer.htm.

International News: FEI Ride Calendar for USA 2008

Tentative FEI ride calendar for USA 2008:

Mar. 8-9 - CEIY 3*, 2* - Morriston, FL - 'FITS' - Jan Stevens

Apr. 19 - CEI 3*, 2* - Inyokern, CA - Git-R-Done II - Tammy Robinson

May 25 - CEI 3*, 2* - Oreana, ID - Owyhee 100 - Steph Teeter

Jun. 7-8 - CEIY 3*, 2* - Ashland, MT - Fort Howes - Jan Stevens

Aug. 1 CEIY 3* - Parker, CO - North American Young Rider Endurance Championship - Jan Stevens

Sep. l6 CEIY 3*, 2* - Las Cruces, NM - Desert Classic - David Kaden

Oct. 18 CEI 3*, 2* - Asheville, NC - World Endurance Festival - Emmett Ross

Nov. 8 CEI 2* - Lexington, KY - 2008 WEG2010 Pre-Breeze - Arthur W. Priez, Jr.

South Dakota Endurance Riding Clinic

November 17, South Dakota State University Campus

Contact info:
Lisa Simpson
PH: 605.874.2293
Email: simpson@itctel.com

Heather Dant-Benson
PH: 605.552.6782
Email: heather@bridlewise.com

Clinic Details Here (pdf file)

Del Dios Highlands Open Space Preserve

Below you will find info on the opening of the new Del Dios Highlands Open Space Preserve. This 350 acre preserve is the land that my late husband, Jerry Gradisher and the Escondido Creek Conservancy brokered to ensure it would never be developed. The land is a high ridge between Elfin Forest and Del Dios/Lake Hodges. It abuts the 750 acre Elfin Forest Recreation Reserve to the west and Lake Hodges to the east. This new link has trails that connect Elfin Forest to the Coast to Crest Trail (which travels from Del Mar to Julian). These are excellent horse trail with lots of climbing and magnificent views.


Here is the invite with a picture(PDF)

Needless to say, the dedication of this land as permanent open space is a dream come true. Sometimes good does win. Thank you Jerry! All your hard work has paid off, I know you will be with us.

Nancy Reed
Lazy J Ranch
Elfin Forest
PS If anyone is interested in doing a training ride, please contact me.

County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price and the Department of Parks and
Recreation cordially invite you to celebrate the ribbon cutting and grand
opening ceremony of Del Dios Highlands County Preserve (9860 Del Dios Hwy)
on Thursday, October 18 at 11:30 a.m.

Directions:
>From the I-15
Exit Via Rancho Parkway
Go west on Via Rancho Parkway for 4 miles to Del Dios Highway
Go left on Del Dios Highway a short distance
The preserve entrance is on the right (look for signs)

>From the I-5
Exit Loma Santa Fe Drive.
Go east on Loma Santa Fe Dr. for 11 miles to Escondido
At Del Dios Highway and Date Lane make a left into the preserve staging area.
For more information, visit www.sdparks.org, or contact:
Mina Nguyen
Public Affairs Officer
County of San Diego, Department of Parks and Recreation
9150 Chesapeake Drive, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92123
Phone: 858-966-1331
Cell: 619-895-0524
Mina.Nguyen@sdcounty.ca.gov

Auburn: Endurance Expo

Training the Core

http://www.gearlog.com/2007/10/panasonic_study_says_giddyup.php

I admit it: last year I mocked Brookstone's OSIM iGallop and Panasonic's JOBA, both horse-riding fitness machines. I even tested one out at CES last year and just felt completely ridiculous sitting on a saddle-like seat with my feet in stirups.

Needless to say, I'm putting my foot in my mouth. Panasonic released a study conducted by researcher Neil Wolkodoff, PhD, which involved 11 participants ages 35 to 60. Each participant rode Panasonic's third-generation horse-riding fitness machine, the Panasonic Core Trainer EU6441A, for 15 minutes a day, five days a week, for two months. Here's what he found: "The Core Trainer performed beyond my expectations. Not only were the changes in core strength and flexibility statistically significant, but VO2 [endurance] levels also increased, while participants experienced a positive change in body composition. Core Trainer study participants showed results with 15 minutes of daily use that some more aggressive products don't show in the regularly recommended 30 minutes a day." See above for percentages of the results.

Complete Story

USEF Rider Ranking List. October 1 update

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) instituted an Endurance Rider Ranking List beginning this year, 2007. Nominated riders earn points according to placements at FEI 100 mile rides, and a few select non-FEI 100 mile rides (e.g. Tevis). Once a rider nominates with USEF to be ranked, all of their ranked ride points will be recorded. This list will be revolving, with standings being updated over a two year period for every nominated rider on the list. The rider ranking will be used as a determining factor in choosing riders to represent the USA at International events.

Rider rankings are based upon the two highest point standing of nominated riders (any horse). The following list represents the list effective October 1, 2007.

1. John Crandall 500
2. Kathy Brunjes 480
3. Valerie Kanavy 480
4. Meg Sleeper 480
5. Steve Rojek 450
6. Ann Hall 370
7. Heather Reynolds 350
8. Joyce Sousa 350
9. Jeremy Reunolds 300
10. Jan Worthington 260
11. Cheryl Dell 230
12. Danielle McGunigal 230
13. Jeremy Olson 220
14. Christoph Schork 220
15. Darolyn Butler 200
16. Hal Hall 195
17. Fred Emigh 190
18. Kirsten Kimbler 180
19. Lynn Kenelly 180
20. Suzanne Hayes 160
21. Heather Stevens 160
22. Jennifer Stevens 160
23. Tammy Robinson 125
24. Sandra Conner 120
25. Charisse Glen 120

Virginia City 100 - 40 Years!

Virginia City 100

Horse is therapeutic for Parkinson's patient

Photo: Jason Hunter / The Capital-Journal

With a stethoscope around his neck to monitor the heart rate of his Arabian horse Josh, Mike Urschel, 54, of Wabash, Ind., relaxes with his companion Bev Staats following a seven-hour horseback ride to Burlingame. He is a rider in the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race.

Rider with Parkinson's disease says time on his mount is therapeutic during 11-day, 800-mile journey
By James Carlson
The Capital-Journal
Published Friday, September 14, 2007

BURLINGAME — Trotting along the Santa Fe Trail on his purebred Arabian, Mike Urschel doesn't tremble, he doesn't shake and — if you can believe it — he feels better than when he is out of the stirrups.

Only when he is on solid ground again do you notice the slight hunch, the measured tones in his voice that hint at Parkinson's disease.

"When I'm riding, I don't feel anything, like every neuron is moving with that horse," he said half an hour after he and his horse, Josh, crossed the finish line first during Thursday's stretch of the 800-mile, 11-day Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race.

The 40 riders began their day at 7:15 a.m. in Council Grove and seven hours, 50 miles and 80,000 steps later, Urschel won the day's ride.

"I feel better today than I have all week," he said.

So far, he and Josh have placed first, second and third in some of the race stages.

The race began Sept. 1 in Santa Fe, N.M. Some days, such as Thursday, participants ride their horses for seven hours. Other days they are in the saddle longer.

From his early days in Wabash, Ind., Urschel loved to ride. He said that after his dad left for work each day, he would throw his leg over a horse and ride all day.

"You fool," his dad would say.

But when the disease's symptoms snuck around the corner of his 50th birthday, Urschel found solace in the saddle.

He takes Mirapex. He soaks his feet in solution. The gruff, mustached 54-year-old even does yoga. But nothing works like riding.

Urschel's neurologists don't know why. He isn't sure either, but everyone has got an idea.

Darolyn Butler should know. She has traveled the world, from Brazil to Portugal to the United Arab Emirates, riding in world championships.

"Time on a horse is time standing still," she said. "You don't age when you're up there."

Maggie Rankin, of Clovis, N.M., watched Urschel cross the line and commented about Josh, "That's one hell of a horse."

To why the symptoms of Urschel's Parkinson's might wane while riding, she offered an old cowboy saying, "The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man."

As a salesman back in Indiana, Urschel doesn't "function too good sometimes," he said. Standing in a grassy field outside Burlingame, his shoulders fold inward, his mouth doesn't portray his often humorous tone.

"That's the Parkinson's for you," said Bev Staats, Urschel's companion of five years.

Maybe it is this intimate knowledge of life's edges that has Urschel not pushing Josh as hard as some other riders. An hour after he finished, Urschel popped open a can of Miller Lite and pointed to another horse lying in the grass receiving a veterinarian's care.

"I don't ever want to push my horse to the point he has to do that," Urschel said.

He called it a "shame, a tragedy" that two horses died Tuesday when they ran past the finish line and into a road where they were hit by an oncoming car in the central Kansas county of McPherson. The two riders were airlifted to a Wichita hospital.

Urschel said he always wants to win the "best condition" category, which is a combination of finish place and the horse's health.

As for his condition, Urschel knows it will catch up to him, and riding will someday cease its therapeutic affects and become impossible. That day is a ways off, he says.

In fact, with 105 miles to go, he may just keep on keepin' on after the race ends Sunday in Independence, Mo.

Maybe he will ride on through to home in Wabash, Ind.

"Nah, even then, I'll just keep riding and riding and riding," he said. "That'd be good. Never stop."

James Carlson can be reached at (785) 295-1186 or james.carlson@cjonline.com.

The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race ends

KansasCity.Com
By JIM SULLINGER
The Kansas City Star

Think of this race as the Iditarod or Tour de France — but on horseback.

The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race began Sept. 3 in Santa Fe, N.M., with about 60 riders and 160 horses and finished Saturday in Gardner.

About half the riders reached the final day. Some dropped out because of dehydration. One broke his collarbone and shoulder in Dodge City when his horse reared.

The race (participants preferred to call it a ride) covered 515 miles. Only two riders completed the route without changing horses. Many wore spurs attached to tennis shoes. Instead of cowboy hats, they wore helmets.

Riders spent nine to 12 hours in the saddle each day for three days, rested and traveled a day, then repeated another three days at a different location along the old Santa Fe Trail.

Scott Griffin of Seattle won the race, competing in his first horse endurance competition. His reward was a belt buckle presented Saturday night by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. There was no prize money, just bragging rights.

Event organizer Rob Phillips worked 18 months to put it together. Was it everything he had hoped?

He was quick to say it was not. Two horses were killed and their riders injured when they were hit by a car south of Canton, Kan., on the ninth day.

“It was very unfortunate,” Phillips said. “Was there anything we could have done different? Well, we could have not put on the event.”

One of the injured riders, Teresa Wilcox of Chadwick, Mo., returned Saturday and rode a 15-mile leg.

Jeanie Hauser, a veterinarian from Leavenworth County, said all the horses received regular inspections by veterinarians each day. About five or six horses a day were eliminated for minor ailments.

“They have fared very well, and that’s because people have been taking very good care of their horses,” she said.

Phillips said some riders often walked miles to rest their horses. Water troughs were spaced every five miles.

Although injuries are rare in endurance horse racing, there is an element of danger.

Rick Medlin, a team rider from Paola, Kan., said Saturday that he could have gone three or four more days and wasn’t saddlesore.

“The most enjoyable thing is seeing the country and riding horses,” he said. “It’s the adventure of a lifetime.”

Rick Lee, a rider from Adams, Neb., said wearing the right clothes was important, especially for riders spending hours in the saddle.

A rider wearing just a pair of jeans would finish the day with badly battered legs.

To increase protection, he said, many riders wore pantyhose or bicycle pants underneath their jeans.

Kept close by, he added, were jars of skin ointment.

@ Go to KansasCity.com for video.

To reach Jim Sullinger, call 816-234-7701 or send e-mail to jsullinger@kcstar.com.

Great Santa Face Horse Race ends 515-trek in Gardner

Hays Daily News, Kansas

By CARL MANNING
Associated Press Writer

GARDNER, Kan. (AP) -- Jim Hole was among the riders in the Great Santa Fe Horse Race finishing the 515-mile endurance ride this weekend in a town where pioneers had to decide which route to take on their westward journey.

The race started Sept. 3 near the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico, going more or less along the wide, meandering trail that opened in 1821 as a trade route between Santa Fe, then part of Mexico, and its starting point in Independence, Mo.

The race called for riders to go 50 miles a day for 10 days, sometimes through blistering heat and daylong downpours as they covered the sweeping landscapes of open prairies and rolling plains.

Hole, of Sacramento, Calif., was one of two riders Friday who had made the entire trip on one horse, even though the rules allow for multiple horses. Since the start, Hole's constant companion has been Little Big Man, an 8-year-old bay Arabian gelding he calls his "friend and partner."

For Hole, the race was a link to the past, as he slept under the stars with his horse and saw much the same landscape the settlers saw.

"Sometimes you have to experience what they went through to appreciate what you've got today," Hole said. "You feel the wind on your shoulders, the smells, hear the birds. It takes you back to another day."

That's something Rob Phillips, founder and coordinator of the race, had in mind when he came up with the idea a year and half ago.

"We wanted them to get the feel for the terrain, and I think they are getting a good feel for that, but you can never replicate how it was in the 1800s," said Phillips, of Lawrence.

He said the race started with 60 riders. That's been pared to 45 or 50 as the race entered its final days.

On Friday, 21 riders competed at Eisenhower State Park near Melvern Lake in Osage County. Phillips said the park was used because it had riding trails. They rode an 18-mile circuit three times to get in their miles before setting up camp outside Gardner.

"They're out here to see what they can do. They don't have to ride every day," said ride manager Marilyn McCoy, of Sierra Vista, Ariz.

On Saturday, riders will repeat the process at Hillsdale Lake to the finish the race, then return to Gardner to find out how they fared.

Originally, the race was to end in Independence, Mo., but the proliferation of highways, streets, subdivisions and businesses between here and there ruled that out.

"The more we looked, it wasn't feasible because of the traffic. We just couldn't do that part," Phillips said. "The lakes have riding trails where we can do 50 miles on them and they are near the Santa Fe Trail."

The competition had at least a dozen categories, and the overall winner will be the rider with the shortest time.

Phillips originally envisioned an 800-mile dash for the cash. But the distance was reduced for the sake of horses and riders, and cash prizes were eliminated so the event could be sanctioned by the American Endurance Ride Conference, the national governing body.

"We didn't want the people riding the horses so hard just to win a dollar, but they'll still get bragging rights for the rest of their lives," Phillips said.

Friday was a day of gentle winds, making the prairie grass and sunflowers wave and temperatures in the 60s. Susan Thompson, of Sweetwater, Tenn., took a scheduled break while her horse, a 7-year-old brown Arabian gelding named Thee Macade was being checked by veterinarians -- one of four vet checks each horse undergoes each day.

Thompson said the biggest challenge at the start was the New Mexico heat. But she said the day-to-day challenge is taking care of the horses.

"They can't tell you when they don't feel good, or are hungry or thirsty," she said.

Phillips' inspiration for the race came after hearing about Francis X. Aubry, a trader who made a $1,000 bet in 1848 that he could travel the trail from Santa Fe to Independence in six days. He took five days and 16 hours to cover the 800-mile route that normally took a month, establishing a record that still stands.

While this is the first year for such an event, Phillips said, "We have a vision that this will become one of the major equine events in our country."

The arrival of the riders coincides with 150th anniversary celebration of Gardner, which owes its start to the Santa Fe and Oregon trails.

"The original settlers were blacksmiths and suppliers for people on the trail. This was the last stop before deciding whether to the Santa Fe, Oregon or California trails," said Chamber of Commerce President Peter Solie.

The three trails were one coming out of Independence through Gardner. Then west of town, the Santa Fe went southwest, mainly as a two-way trade route, and the Oregon settlers' route split to the northwest. The California Trail then parted from the Oregon in southern Idaho.

------

On the Net:

Santa Fe Horse Race: http://www.sfthorserace.com

City of Gardner: http://www.gardnerkansas.gov

Officials to Investigate Horse Deaths at Endurance Ride

TheHorse.Com

September 14 2007, Article # 10407

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The American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) will investigate the deaths of the two horses that were hit by a car after crossing the finish line on day seven of the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Ride, said AERC President Mike Maul. The investigation will be conducted independently of the insurance investigation into the incident.

Rider Teresa Wilcox suffered bruises and scrapes. Rider Sandy Olson suffered a dislocated hip and broken thumb. Both riders were released from the hospital and returned to the ride site.

"This is a terrible thing that has happened," said Maul. "My heart goes out to the riders who were injured. I am so glad to hear that they are back at the ride site."

"An incident such as this during the ride or at the finish has never happened before in the 35-year history of AERC," said Maul. "All incidents, whether large or small, are investigated by the AERC with the purpose of making the sport safer for both riders and the horses participating in the event."

According to Maul, the AERC sanctions almost 800 rides in the United States each year, with more than 23,000 total entries.

"AERC sanctioning provides a uniform standard for those rides, which are put on by members of the AERC as ride managers," said Maul. "The ride itself is supervised by the ride manager and is not under the supervision of the AERC."

The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race is an 800-mile endurance ride completed over a 13-day period. The ride started in Santa Fe, N.M., on Sept. 3 and will end in Missouri on Sept. 15. One of the main objectives of the race is to educate the public not only on the national historic Santa Fe Trail, but also to introduce the sport of endurance riding to thousands, said Maul.

Ride & Tie Right at Home

Cool Ride and Tie event a perfect fit in the foothills' endurance mecca
By: Todd Mordhorst, Journal Sports Editor
Thursday, September 13, 2007

Scott and Tracy Bakewell, of Pilot Hill, approach the finish line at the Cool Ride and Tie last weekend on the Olmstead Loop in Cool. The Bakewells finished the 13-mile race in 2 hours, 12 minutes to win. Loomis residents Marcia Smith and Tom Johnson took first in the 22-mile race, finishing in 2:34. Mike Ahlbrand/courtesy photo

COOL - Competing a few miles down the road from the Pilot Hill residence, the Bakewell family made itself at home during last weekend's Cool Ride and Tie.

The Olmstead Loop in Cool hosted the second annual event, making it a short trip for local competitors and they took full advantage. While Scott and Tracy Bakewell raced to first place in the 13-mile event, renowned endurance athletes Tom Johnson and Marcia Smith of Loomis, took the top prize in the 22-mile race.

Ride and tie involves two runners and one horse per team. All three team members must cross the finish line and the team must make a minimum of six exchanges between rider and runner throughout the race.

"I love the mix of endurance running and horses," said Tracy Bakewell, took a 15-year break from the sport before returning this year. "I'm very passionate about both and I thought it was unbelievable that a sport like this existed. My husband wasn't into it at all, but he went to a few, got the feel for it and now we can turn it into a family camping weekend adventure."

Emily Bakewell, 8, even got into the action in Cool. She and her mother competed in the four-mile race Saturday afternoon, riding Emily's mustang Rudy.

"She'd wanted to do one for awhile," Tracy explained. "I was really happy they offered an event afterward for the younger riders."

Rufus Schneider and Nita Browning rode Koona to first place in the four-mile race. In the nine-mile division, Madelynn Jordan and Bill Bordan were winners, atop Torche. The Cool Ride and Tie was an immediate hit with the endurance community after Cool's Frank Lieberman introduced it last year. A former Tevis Cup and Western States Endurance Run finisher, Lieberman has been involved with ride and tie for many years and thought a local event would only be appropriate.

"We had talked about it for years," said Lieberman, whose wife Linda also played a key role in organizing the event. "The setting here is perfect for it, so we finally just decided to go ahead and do it."

The event is one of 24 races throughout the country sanctioned by the Ride and Tie Association. It also serves as a fundraiser for the Michael Gray Trust. Gray, who owned the Cool Feed Store, had been a supporter of the inaugural race before suffering a fatal stroke. Last year's proceeds went to the Gray family, while this year's proceeds went to the family of former ride and tie competitor Jeremy Davis, who passed away in July.

Lieberman said 37 teams competed on Saturday as a group of 37 volunteers made sure the event ran smoothly.

"It was one of the bigger turnouts for an event like this that I've seen," said Bakewell, who owns Personalize It, an engraving business. "Having it close to home, we definitely had more support from friends. And we had a chance to promote the sport to some of our friends."

News from The GSFHR with 2 days to go

Posted by Michael Maul to Ridecamp

In first place with two days to go is Scott Griffin of Seattle, WA
supported by Suzy Kelley on multiple horses - new rider to the
sport this year with about 500 miles. He's riding Arab/Half-Arab
horses. Team name Mission Not Impossible
Team Mission Not Impossible

Second place is Karen Fredrickson of Kneeland, CA riding the same
horse all the days. Karen has nearly 9,000 endurance miles nd is on the Pac North Outlaws team with jim and Cindy Brown and Linda Tribby. Bio on the page below.

Team Pacific North Outlaws

Other riders on the same horse for all the days so far are Jim
Hole of Rocklin, CA with 830 endurance miles on Mixed/Mule

Team Hole

Bonnie Yoho of Salem, AR with about 700 endurance miles riding
Tennessee Walking Horses, Standardbred Team name Misfit ranch

Team Misfit Ranch

Teresa Wilcox has been back in camp since Wednesday.

Sandy Olson is still in the hospital in traction.

2 Horses Killed in SF Trail Race

Albuquerque Journal

Thursday, September 13, 2007
By Kiera Hay
Journal Northern Bureau

SANTA FE- Tragedy struck the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race when two
horses were killed and their riders injured after being hit by a car Tuesday
near the day's finish line near Canton, Kan.
The stage's top two competitors- Theresa Wilcox of Chadwick, Mo., and
Sandy Olsen of Edmond, Okla.- completed Tuesday's 50-mile ride just before 2
p.m. but rode past the finish line, apparently still racing.
The pair "were neck-and-neck running" in the direction of a paved road
about a half-mile west of the finish line, McPherson County Undersheriff Jim
Johnston said Wednesday.
The women were unable to stop before an oncoming car plowed into their
horses, killing the animals instantly.
"They crossed the finish line and just continued racing. I don't know if
they got caught up in the whole thing or what," Johnston said.
Wilcox and Olsen were airlifted to Via Christi Regional Medical Center
in Wichita. Both were in fair condition Wednesday afternoon, according to a
hospital spokeswoman.
"Their injuries weren't life-threatening, but they had substantial
injuries to the pelvic area and legs," Johnston said.
The driver of the car, 73-year-old Goldie Becker of Canton, sustained
minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where she was
later released, The McPherson Sentinel reported.
The dead horses were taken to a pasture in McPherson County and buried,
Johnston said.
The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race started Sept. 3 near Santa Fe and
ends Saturday outside Independence, Mo. It spans about 850 miles, roughly
following the Cimarron route of the Santa Fe Trail used by traders in the
1800s. About 500 miles are on horseback, with riders completing 10 stages of
50 miles per day. There are three idle days.
Attempts to reach race organizer Rob Phillips on Wednesday were
unsuccessful. Phillips told a Journal reporter Tuesday- about four hours
after the accident- that no major incidents had occurred during the race's
seven days of competition.
It's extremely rare for horses to perish during endurance rides, said
Mike Maul, president of the American Endurance Ride Conference, a national
governing body for long-distance riding that sanctioned the Santa Fe Trail
race.
About 23,000 horses took part in AERC-sanctioned endurance ride
competitions last year, Maul said, and somewhere between six and 10 died,
which is average. Many perish from colic, he said, although accidents do
happen.
"It's very tragic and it's very sad that it (Tuesday's incident)
happened," Maul said.
Maul said it appeared as though riders Tuesday had adequate room to stop
their horses between crossing the finish line and reaching the paved road.
If Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race organizers demonstrate they are
producing a "safe race," the AERC will sanction the event in the future, he
said.
Dennis Latta, director of the New Mexico Sports Authority, said that
agency- which is listed as a "partner" of the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse
Race on the event's Web site, along with the New Mexico Tourism Department-
would also evaluate the incident.

Indications are, however, that it "wasn't a matter of poor planning on
the organizers' part," Latta said.
"There were no real problems in New Mexico, and I don't think there
would (have been) in Kansas if they (Wilcox and Olsen) had stopped at the
finish line," he said.
Latta said the race, which received $10,000 in sponsorship money from
the Tourism Department, was "a great event for New Mexico" and that safety
appeared to be a top priority for organizers.
McPherson County Sheriff's Department officials consider the incident an
accident and have not pressed charges, Johnston said, adding that Becker was
on a "straight through" section of road and unable to avoid the animals.
Riders were told before the day's stage began that the road was just a
half-mile away from the finish line, Johnston added.

Great Santa Fe Horse Race: Injured horseriders airlifted to Wichita

McPherson Sentianal
Published: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 5:01 PM CDT
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CANTON -- An accident at 1:58 p.m. Tuesday marred the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race traveling through McPherson County. The accident at 27th Avenue and Cimarron Road seven miles south of Canton.

A vehicle struck two horses and two women riders were airlifted to Wichita after sustaining apparent disabling injuries, according to the McPherson County sheriff's department. The driver of the vehicle was transported to McPherson Memorial Hospital, according to officials. Eyewitnesses reported the women riders apparently went past the finish line and into the path of a vehicle moving northbound to Canton.

The McPherson County sheriff's department, Canton fire and EMS personnel and Moundridge EMS were dispatched to the accident. The riders followed a route from Dakota Road to Fifth Avenue, to Cimarron Road across McPherson County Tuesday.

The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race involved more than 60 riders who started in Santa Fe, N.M.. They ride more than 50 miles a day along the Santa Fe Trail until they reach Independence, Mo. Saturday. The actual riding distance is 515 miles while the distance traveled is 800 miles.

3000 Miles of AERC Trails on One Horse

Skyla Stewart and Tempo

Where to start-how about near the beginning to set the "stage" for why this accomplishment meant SO much to me. I have my first endurance horse still with me, AW Habod, he is now 26 and enjoying a leisurely lifestyle. Habod "self retired" at 12 or 13 when he broke a coffin bone at home in his field (of rocks). The coffin bone healed fine but he ended up with a secondary issue of low ringbone which ended any distance career. At this time he was at 2665 AERC miles, and it was heartbreaking to know we would never reach that major 3000 mile victory.

For nine years following, I had also been forced into a type of ride "retirement" due to some rather unpleasant life changes. It was at this point my boyfriend (now husband) asked me to marry him, and did I want a ring or a horse for my "engagement"...uh huh, like I NEEDED to think about that answer?? Needless to say, I have been riding my engagement "ring" for over 3000 miles, hee, hee. VERY smart man, very, very smart man. :o)

DA Antar Shalou, born 4-19-91, a big bay Al Khamsa & Egyptian Arabian gelding, this is the horse of a lifetime. He just passed the 3000 mile mark at the Old Selam ride on day two. I have had two such "once in a lifetime" horses, how lucky is that!?! Tempo, as he is called, was bred by Bob and Sheila Harmon of Destiny Arabians here in Eagle Idaho. Bob and Arlene Morris had acquired the unbroken 8 year old gelding, and Bob made Tempo (known as Phylite at the time) his personal riding horse. After a year of searching for a horse, I got a call from Morris' to come take a look at what they had. Well, ONE ride on "Phylite" was all it took, I knew THIS was to be my next soul-mate. After vetting him out, I changed his name to "Tempo" and we began our lives together. Tempo began doing 50's at age 11, with me as his jockey, he was a LOT of horse, he "tried" really hard to be good, which encouraged me to keep working at him. The ONLY time he was so much horse was at endurance rides. I remember them making sure to clear a take-off strip for us at the out-vet holds, as once I started my leg up he was taking out EVERYTHING in his path! It was not only embarrassing, it was down right dangerous, we just had to really pay attention when it was time to mount up. Man I sure do NOT miss those days! Today he is mostly well behaved and a great pleasure-most of the time. Tempo loves life, loves riding, is very expressive and has spent most of those 3015 miles with his lips flapping all over the place. I have more pictures of the inside of that horse's lower lip then I care to think about...ARGH! He is opinionated, loving, independent, generous, kind, grouchy, strong, gentle, can be patient to a fault or impatient to a fault, but he always likes to "go for a ride". He loves having a horse follow him as he IS a leader. Tempo is just a fun horse to be owned by and he makes friends everywhere he goes! There is no place I like better, then sitting next to him at the trailer. He LIKES me and he lets me know it, he wants me to be with him, yet he won't hesitate to leave my hind-end on the trail if he takes a notion to and I have dropped the reins. He just walks off, his eyes glaze over and he heads off to his own "walk-about". You can NOT get him to follow a horse, catch him from a horse, or come back to a horse or group of horses. Tempo doesn't "need" anybody so catching him comes down to either he decides to come back, or he decides he has gone far enough. I hope he continues with all his little quirks for 2-3000 more miles. If his body is willing I am betting his mind and heart will be right there.

Tempo is the kind of horse that people notice, he is big, bold, and "weird". This horse is a friend to me, I can NOT imagine for one moment not having him in my life. I try my best to do right by him, to allow him to enjoy what he does yet temper it. Now with the 3K behind us maybe I will relax and let Tempo pick a couple rides to just have his way (well with-in my judgment) and go have some fun. He LOVES to go fast, he does a nice job of it too with much "tempering" on my part. Endurance rides are Tempo's greatest joy in life, although so often times he is SET on going any way BUT the way the other horses went. I for the life of me will never understand him, and I will NEVER, EVER trust him to get me "home" if we get lost! He would get me home, just might not be for several days, after he has seen all he wanted to see. Very frustrating guy, the thought of riding in the dark alone on a ride is terrifying, there HAS to be more then enough glow sticks, we might never get back otherwise! Tempo has a very odd sense of humor.

Tempo has given to me what fate took away when Habod got hurt. I've waited a lifetime to get a horse to this pinnacle. Tempo and I ARE a team, we are joined at the hip-well unless he goes on a "walk-about". I like having him in my life, as does he like having me in his. I pray that we continue this partnership for many more years.

Skyla and Tempo

Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race. Day 1

By Staci Matlock | The New Mexican
September 3, 2007

Horses, riders get first taste of toughness on first 50-mile leg of race

Trotting out on a long-legged quarter horse named Nugget and wearing a black felt cowboy hat with cut-off jeans, Dawson Higgins didn’t look like a typical endurance rider.

But the Tucumcari resident was the quintessential picture of cowboy New Mexico as he rode the first leg of the 515-mile, 15-day Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race. The race ends Sept. 15 in Independence, Mo.

“I took my (coiled) rope off before we started,” Higgins, 27, said with a smile, taking a break during the ride. “Otherwise, they really would have laughed at me.”

A total of 40 riders began the ride from Country Road 51 at Glorieta/Rowe Mesa about 7:30 a.m. Monday. The ride finished for the day almost 50 miles later near Ribera.

The first two riders to finish the day rode Arabians equipped with light-weight endurance saddles, similar to English saddles, carrying water bottles and other gear typical of endurance riders. First in was Scott Griffin of Seattle, on Cruiser, followed closely by Tennessee Lane Mahoney, a newlywed and horse-trainer from Windsor, Colo., on Sabella. Both riders intend to ride their horses the entire distance.

Dawson held his own, coming in third. His teammate, Shawn Davis, 39, will ride the 50 miles to Springer today. The Tucumcari duo are the only all-New Mexico team in the race.

The first day was likely the toughest of the two-week event, according to riders and race organizers. Veterinarians checked horses before the race began, at two stops during the day’s ride and at the end. Any horse whose heart rate didn’t reach 60 beats per minute within 10 minutes or who showed signs of dehydration or injury were pulled from the race. Similar vet checks will occur each day of the event under rules set by the American Endurance Racing Conference.

Jean Albert Renaud, a Motown songwriter and horseman from Maryland who goes by the name JAR, had to pull out his black stallion Tody at the first stop. The stallion, a Morgan, Arabian and Tennessee Walker crossbreed, stepped on sharp shale and ended up with the horse version of a swollen ankle. “The main thing is to get these horses through safely,” said Renaud, 65, who will ride today with his son on two more of their “Morwalkarabs.”

The first leg Monday covered 14 miles and went up the mesa along a power-line road and over to N.M. 34 on top of the mesa. The next leg was 28 miles across the mesa and down “one long rock” as a rider described it, before reaching the second stop near Ribera. The last leg of the day’s race was a short six-mile hop across the Pecos River. Riders and horses were picked up there by their crews and driven in to Las Vegas, N.M., where they will stay at the mobile Race Village.

Riders with many levels of experience in all kinds of gear and riding several different breeds of horses began the first day of the inaugural event.

Mac McSwain, a cowboy out of Winona, Texas, intends to ride the whole distance switching off between six Spanish mustangs. He wanted to do the race “so the world can see these are great little horses,” McSwain said.

He had a newly purchased equine heart monitor and a global positioning system unit, but “I don’t know how to use either one,” he said with a laugh as he waited his turn for a vet check.

Jonathan Jordan, a rider from Alpine, Calif., wore running shoes. "I like to run," said Jordan, an experienced endurance rider. "It gives tHe horse a break. I ride about 10 miles and then get off and run about two miles."

Paul Strick of Pierce City, Mo., at 69 is the oldest rider in the event. He’s riding two Arabian/quarter-horse brothers and will attempt the entire distance at a leisurely pace. “Some of these riders will go 9 to 10 mph. I’ll go about 4. I want to go home with these horses healthy. If I don’t, my wife is liable to divorce me or kill me."

A cadre of volunteers, also from across the country, are helping check horses in, haul water to rubber tanks placed every five or six miles and try to keep the chaotic event running smoothly.

Minnesotan Craig Opel volunteered for another reason. Along the way, he’s dropping by points along the historic Santa Fe Trail where his great-great-great-uncle and aunt stopped in 1850 as they came across by wagon train. His ancestor Anna Maria Morris kept a diary of the trip, and it was published in the book, Cover Wagon Women - Diaries and Letters from the Western Trails. "I came on this to find as many spots where they stopped as I can," Opel said.

He took a brief detour during the race to the crumbling adobe church at the Pecos National Historic Park. "I stood exactly where she stood 157 years and 15 days ago,” Opel said. "It was pretty cool."

Contact Staci Matlock at 470-9843 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.
Following the race

Sept. 2 — Santa Fe
Sept. 3 — Las Vegas, N.M.
Sept. 4 — Springer
Sept. 5 — Clayton
Sept. 6-7 — Elkhart, Kan.
Sept. 8 — Dodge City, Kan.
Sept. 9 — Larned, Kan.
Sept. 10 — Lyons, Kan.
Sept. 11-12 — Council Grove, Kan.
Sept. 13 — Burlingame, Kan.
Sept. 14 — Gardner, Kan.
Sept. 15 — Independence, Mo.

For more information on the race, visit www.sfthorserace.com.

Riders to race along Santa Fe Trail

The Raton Range
August 28 2007
By Todd Wildermuth
for The Raton Range

RATON, New Mexico (STPNS) --
Springer will host a myriad of horse riders and their mounts as they gallop along the Santa Fe Trail competing in a 13-day, 500-mile endurance ride from Santa Fe to Missouri.

The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race is scheduled to take place Sept. 3-15, with 62 riders leaving from just outside Santa Fe on Labor Day.

The first two days of the 800-mile race will take riders from Santa Fe to Las Vegas, N.M., and then to Springer, where the race participants will spend the night next Tuesday, Sept. 4, at the Colfax County Fairgrounds. The fairgrounds will be open from 2 to 6 p.m. for visitors to meet the riding teams and see their horses that are part of the first-ever event. The riders are expected to start arriving in Springer about 2 p.m. Tuesday.

USEF Seeks Candidates for Chef d'Equipe for Endurance

Release: August 09 2007

Lexington, KY—The United States Equestrian Federation is seeking an individual to fill the position of Endurance Chef d’Equipe. The successful candidate will be provided with a contract for the 2008-2010 biennium and possibly longer.

A Search Committee has been appointed:

-James Wolf - Executive Director, Sports Programs
-Mark Phillips - USEF Chef d’Equipe for Eventing
-Tony Benedetti - Endurance High Performance and Active Athlete Committee member.
-Kathy Brunjes - Endurance High Performance Committee Member, Endurance Athlete Representative to the USEF Executive Board
-Julie Bullock - Chair of the Active Athletes Committee and Vice-Chair of the Endurance High Performance Committee
-Valerie Kanavy - Active Athlete and Endurance High Performance Committee member
-Vonita Bowers – Director of Endurance

The Search Committee was charged with developing a job description for the Chef d’Equipe, conducting a search for an individual to fill this position, and making a recommendation to be reviewed by the Endurance High Performance Committee, the High Performance Working Group and the USEF Executive Committee.

The committee has met several times to discuss the aspects of the search process and to develop a job description. The members will continue to meet regularly to with a goal of selecting a candidate by December 1, 2007. The Committee requests that High Performance Committee members and Active Athletes identify and encourage qualified applicants to apply.

The ideal candidate will meet the qualities as defined in the job description; however, any candidate who generally meets the qualifications is encouraged to apply.
The search committee will begin reviewing applications after July 31, 2007.

This position is posted on the USEF website www.usef.org, specifically on either the Job Opportunities page at this link:
http://www.usef.org/contentPage2.aspx?id=jobs

Or, on the Endurance page (click on Breeds and Disciplines on the left hand menu on the homepage, then click on Endurance)

Advertisements will be placed in various equine publications. Individuals wishing to apply for the position should do so in writing, include their CV and competition history, and forward them to:

Vonita Bowers, Director of Endurance
4047 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511,
Fax (859) 231-6662, E-mail vbowers@usef.org.

USA: Man rides in to the record books

Press Association
Monday August 6, 2007 7:28 PM
Richard Rodriguez overtook the previous total of nine days and 12 hours at 12.01am on Monday.

The 48-year-old broke the record on the Pepsi Max Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

Not content with this feat, the American is still riding the rollercoaster to maximise his total.

He said: "It feels amazing to be the world record holder once again, but I'm not just going to give up now - I want to stay on for as long as possible and make my record a solid one.

"The ride crews and all the visitors who have come to support me have been a great help and have inspired me to stay positive during this successful record attempt so I'd like to thank them all."

Mr Rodriguez has to eat, drink and sleep on rollercoasters as he takes on the ultimate endurance test.

In accordance with stringent Guinness Book of Records guidelines, the American will accumulate five minutes respite for every full hour ridden to allow him to change clothes, shower, have a hot meal and transfer onto the Big Dipper for night-time riding.

He was going head to head with two challengers at Freizeitland Gieselwind park in Germany, but they dropped out after 36 hours due to medical reasons.

Mr Rodriguez had held the record for nearly 30 years until German Frank Rossler beat it last year.

USA: Great Santa Fee Trail Horse Race

The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race is an 800 mile endurance ride completed over a 13 day period. It is open to all breeds.

The ride will start in Santa Fe, New Mexico on September 3, 2007 and end in Missouri on September 15, 2007.

One of the main objectives of the race is to educate the public not only on the national historic Santa Fe Trail, but also to introduce the sport of endurance riding to thousands.

One Hundred teams will spend each evening in the race village where over 100,000 spectators are expected to visit throughout the entire course of the event.

The riders will complete the specified distance for the day then stop and spend the night at the race village. Each rider’s time will be recorded, and accumulated for end of the race.

The rider with the shortest time overall will be declared the winner. In addition to an individual winner, team competition will exist.

Spectators are encouraged to turn out to greet the riders at “race villages,” which will be overnight stopping points for the riders and their horses.

Santa Fe, N.M., Sept. 1-2

Las Vegas, N.M., Sept. 3

Springer, N.M., Sept. 4

Clayton, N.M., Sept. 5

Elkhart, Kan., Sept. 6

Dodge City, Kan., Sept. 7-8

Larned, Kan., Sept. 9

Lyons, Kan., Sept. 10

Council Grove, Kan., Sept. 11-12

Burlingame, Kan., Sept. 13

Gardner, Kan., Sept. 14-15.

Sweetwater horse trainer will ride in Great Santa Fe Trail endurance race

Cleveland Daily Banner

Published August 03, 2007 10:04 AM EDT

Thompson Training Center, owned and operated by John and Susan Thompson, in Sweetwater is preparing for the biggest endurance horse race, The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race.

The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race starts Sept. 3 in Santa Fe, NM and will end 800 miles later on Sept. 15 in Independence, Mo. It is broken down into 10 rides of 50-55 miles a day over 510 miles. Only 100 teams will be allowed to enter with about 500 horses dashing over the landscape. Already, 76 riders from 22 states have signed up, paying entry fees ranging from $3,500 to $4,500.

Susan has ridden, trained and competed on horses almost her entire life. Her riding accomplishments include prominence in barrel racing and endurance riding. She has endurance raced since 1996 and has completed 44 of 50 races and accumulated almost 2000 competitive miles.

Thompson is entered in the most prestigious team type, one rider on one or more horses for the entire race and is the only entry from the state of Tennessee. She will be taking two straight Egyptian bred Arabian horses, Thee Pilgram, an 8-year-old gray gelding and Thee MaCade a 7-year-old bay gelding, both sired by Thee Desperado, alternating them each day.

Thee MaCade, in 2006, his first year of competition, finished four of five fifty mile races accumulating 175 competitive miles and finished sixth in the Arabian Horse Association, Region 12 - 50 mile Championship. Thee MaCade has started the 2007 season with a very impressive fifth-place finish in the 50 mile Biltmore Challenge out of 103 competitors in the worst conditions. Rain began to fall around 6 a.m. that morning and continued throughout the day making the trails slick and dangerous. Thee Pilgram, who just began his endurance career in 2007, finished his first race/first 50 at the GERA Fundraiser under the heavyweight division with John Thompson aboard placing 10th.

After a long day in the saddle, riders will be able to rest at race villages. Each village will consist of a 30-acre area resembling a traveling fair, with food vendors, a dining tent, merchants, farriers, veterinarians and places for riders to clean up and rest. The race has already attracted several major sponsors, including the RFD-TV cable-satellite network, the U.S. Postal Service, the Bureau of Land Management, Chevy Trucks, and the Kansas Lottery

Spectators are encouraged to turn out to greet the riders at “race villages” where participants and their horses will spend the night in 11 locations across New Mexico and Kansas. More than 100,000 people in total will be on hand to watch as the competitors arrive.

The Imus Ranch, a New Mexico ranch that helps children with cancer, is the event’s designated charity and will get a portion of the entry and sponsor fees.

Some of Susan’s current sponsors are Mayfield Dairy Farms, Merita Bakery (IBC-Hostess), The Tennessee Farmers Cooperative, Valley Farmers Co-op, Farm Credit Services of Mid America, Fort Dodge, Farnam, Incor Design & Promotions and Maiden Chase Arabians.

More information is available at www.sfthorserace.com and www.thompsontrainingcenter.com.

Former superintendent on road to recovery after Tevis accident

Auburn Journal

By: Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Retired Western Placer Unified School District superintendent Roger Yohe is expected to recover fully after a harrowing near-death tumble down a cliff during last weekend's Tevis Cup ride.

Yohe, 64, was hospitalized at the Sutter Roseville Medical Center's intensive care unit on Tuesday after suffering four fractured ribs and spending most of Saturday night lying injured on a ledge.

On Saturday, with 25 miles to go in the 100-mile ride from near Truckee to Auburn, Yohe's horse tripped on a rock and both horse and rider fell off a cliff at the side of the narrow trail.

Yohe's wife, Linda Glazier, said he was able to claw into the loose rock as he fell to keep from traveling farther down.

Ending up about 50 to 80 feet below the trail, Yohe used a stick to crawl back up to within 20 feet of the trail.

Fellow Tevis rider Leigh Bacco of Cool watched Yohe and horse fall into the darkness and then went to get help at the next aid station after marking the trail with a jacket.

Bacco said Yohe came to a stop after his tumble on a ledge, with a straight drop of about 120 feet below him.

The fall off the trail occurred at about 9:30 p.m. with both Yohe and Bacco on track to finish in the ride's top 10. Bacco and her horse would go on place ninth while Yohe, holder of seven Tevis finisher buckles, would spend the next eight hours perched below the trail on a small ledge as rescuers worked to build a new trail that would allow him to be taken out be stretcher. A Georgetown resident, Yohe served as superintendent with the Lincoln-area school district from 1996 until his retirement last November.

Glazier, a member of the ride's board of governors, said Yohe would make a full recovery from his injuries, which also included a lacerated liver.

"He's doing just excellent," she said.

Yohe's horse - an 8-year-old Morgan and Arab - received minor scrapes after falling about 20 feet and then gaining its footing.

Yohe was helping Bacco navigate through the darkness when the fall occurred.

"He was getting me through the dark and the trail was so narrow," Bacco said.

Yohe was taken by stretcher to an ambulance and then to a helicopter near Driver's Flat, on the Foresthill Road.

Glazier said that while Yohe was injured in the fall, the finishing rate this year for participants was one of the better ones in recent years, with 91 riders out of 185 who started completing the event in less than 24 hours. The fall was the first in the event for Yohe. It's a ride that's known for its challenging conditions - even for Tevis veterans.

"It's not a ride for snivelers," Glazier said.

Auburn Journal article

Champions of endurance: Ceremony honors Tevis Cup horses, riders

By: Jenna Nielsen, Journal Staff Writer
Sunday, July 29, 2007

photo: Jeanette Mero of Mariposa holds the reins of her horse Maksymilian as veterinarian Rob Lydon of Menton conducts an examination during Haggin Cup judging Sunday at the Gold Country Fairgrounds. Photo by Philip Wood/Auburn Journal

This year's Tevis Cup made history.

For the first time since the "100 Mile One Day Trail Ride" that starts from Robie Park near Lake Tahoe and ends at Auburn's Gold Country Fairgrounds began in 1955, a paint horse became one of the top-10 finishers.

Pamela Bailie of Pilot Hill and her horse, Skipa Slipa on Ice, finished sixth in the race, arriving in Auburn at 12:05 a.m. Sunday.

"I'm pretty excited," Bailie said Sunday at the awards ceremony for Tevis finishers. "I think it is definitely more rewarding to have the first paint."

Bailie said she took the race one checkpoint at a time, not riding too slow or too fast.

"We just worked our way up," she said. "We had a plan and a time that we wanted to arrive at each checkpoint and we pretty much stuck to it."

John Crandell, 2006's Tevis winner, garnered the 2007 Haggin Cup - which is awarded to one of the top 10 horses that is deemed most healthy - for the second year in row.

Crandell won the cup last year on his horse, Heraldic, and this year on HH Saba Shams.

Crandell arrived in Auburn at 9:45 p.m. Saturday, two minutes behind leader Jeremy Reynolds of Los Gatos.

There was a four-hour time span from the time the first rider finished until the 10th crossed the line at 1:26 a.m.

Reynolds claimed the Tevis Cup but was disqualified from presenting his horse in the Haggin Cup judging after some of his crew members committed traffic violations at the Robinson Flat checkpoint, said Erin Klentos, Tevis ride director.

Reynolds, who arrived in Auburn at 9:43 p.m., was allowed to keep his Tevis win, Klentos said.

"We have rules and we make them very clear to both the rider and the crew," Klentos said. "We want people to understand that even if the crew breaks the rules, it can affect the rider."

Klentos said she did not want to release the specific details about the infractions, but she did say the crew did not obey traffic controls in Robinson Flat, posing a safety threat to other volunteers and other riders. "We still acknowledge the rider," Klentos said. "He did a great job and his horse was excellent. And that is why we chose to allow him to win."

Reynolds didn't offer any specific details either, but he did thank the cup committee.

"I know there are a lot of rumors floating around about what happened," Reynolds said. "I just want to say that the cup committee was very gracious to me. We made a mistake and our crew held us out, but I just want to say thanks to everyone."

The top 10 horses were screened at the fairgrounds Sunday morning and buckles for finishers and the two cups were presented in the afternoon.

Ninety-five riders out of the 185 who started the ride completed it in 24 hours.

That number is not unusual as the completion rate from the past 52 years averages 50 percent, and it doesn't matter if you're a Tevis expert or first-time rider, said Mike Pickett, past president and current treasurer of the Western State Trail Foundation.

"It's a very tough trail," Pickett said. "Even the most prepared riders still run the risk of an unexpected minor injury to their horse."

Horses are pulled out by veterinarians any time at any of the 17 checkpoints - for injuries, lack of hydration and metabolic stability, among other factors.

Three riders received 1,000-mile buckles Sunday and Cassandra Schuler of Petaluma was awarded a 2,000-mile buckle for completing the race 20 times.

"It's a lot of riding," Schuler said. "But I am so grateful to everyone who has ever worked on this ride and those who have crewed for me - which is a lot people. I am hooked on this ride."

The Journal's Jenna Nielsen can be reached at jennan@goldcountrymedia.com or comment at www.auburnjournal.com.

With Tools on Web, Amateurs Reshape Mapmaking

Photo: Christopher Berkey for The New York Times
April Johnson used a G.P.S. device to help create a map used for the Trace Tribute endurance horse ride near Nashville. "

SAN FRANCISCO, July 26 — On the Web, anyone can be a mapmaker.

With the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos.

In the process, they are reshaping the world of mapmaking and collectively creating a new kind of atlas that is likely to be both richer and messier than any other.

They are also turning the Web into a medium where maps will play a more central role in how information is organized and found.

Already there are maps of biodiesel fueling stations in New England, yarn stores in Illinois and hydrofoils around the world. Many maps depict current events, including the detours around a collapsed Bay Area freeway and the path of two whales that swam up the Sacramento River delta in May.

James Lamb of Federal Way, Wash., created an online map to illustrate the spread of graffiti in his town and asked other residents to contribute to it. “Any time you can take data and represent it visually, you can start to recognize patterns and see where you need to put resources,” said Mr. Lamb, whose map now pinpoints, often with photographs, nearly 100 sites that have been vandalized.

Increasingly, people will be able to point their favorite mapping service to a specific location and discover many layers of information about it: its hotels and watering holes, its crime statistics and school rankings, its weather and environmental conditions, the recent news events and the history that have shaped it. A good portion of this information is being contributed by ordinary Web users.

In aggregate, these maps are similar to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, in that they reflect the collective knowledge of millions of contributors.

“What is happening is the creation of this extremely detailed map of the world that is being created by all the people in the world,” said John V. Hanke, director of Google Maps and Google Earth. “The end result is that there will be a much richer description of the earth.”

This fast-growing GeoWeb, as industry insiders call it, is in part a byproduct of the Internet search wars involving Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and others. In the race to popularize their map services — and dominate the potentially lucrative market for local advertising on maps — these companies have created the tools that are allowing people with minimal technical skills to do what only professional mapmakers were able to do before.

“It is a revolution,” said Matthew H. Edney, director of the History of Cartography Project at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. “Now with all sorts of really very accessible, very straightforward tools, anybody can make maps. They can select data, they can add data, they can communicate it with others. It truly has moved the power of map production into a completely new arena.”

Online maps have provided driving directions and helped Web users find businesses for years. But the Web mapping revolution began in earnest two years ago, when leading Internet companies first allowed programmers to merge their maps with data from outside sources to make “mash-ups.” Since then, for example, more than 50,000 programmers have used Google Maps to create mash-ups for things like apartment rentals in San Francisco and the paths of airplanes in flight.

Yet that is nothing compared with the boom that is now under way. In April, Google unveiled a service called My Maps that makes it easy for users to create customized maps. Since then, users of the service have created more than four million maps of everything from where to find good cheap food in New York to summer festivals in Europe.

More than a million maps have been created with a service from Microsoft called Collections, and 40,000 with tools from Platial, a technology start-up. MotionBased, a Web site owned by Garmin, the navigation device maker, lets users upload data they record on the move with a Global Positioning System receiver. It has amassed more than 1.3 million maps of hikes, runs, mountain bike rides and other adventures.

On the Flickr photo-sharing service owned by Yahoo, users have “geotagged” more than 25 million pictures, providing location data that allows them to be viewed on a map or through 3-D visualization software like Google Earth.

The maps sketched by this new generation of cartographers range from the useful to the fanciful and from the simple to the elaborate. Their accuracy, as with much that is on the Web, cannot be taken for granted.

“Some people are potentially going to do really stupid things with these tools,” said Donald Cooke, chief scientist at Tele Atlas North America, a leading supplier of digital street maps. “But you can also go hiking with your G.P.S. unit, and you can create a more accurate depiction of a trail than on a U.S.G.S. map,” Mr. Cooke said, referring to the United States Geological Survey.

April Johnson, a Web developer from Nashville, has used a G.P.S. device to create dozens of maps, including many of endurance horse races — typically 25-to-50-mile treks through rural trails or parks.

“You can’t buy these maps, because no one has made them,” Ms. Johnson said.

Tevis Cup prize for Guinasso, Big Dog

Photo: TEAMWORK: Deanna Guinasso of Redding rides her 7-year-old Arabian horse Big Dog near Lake Oroville during the tandem’s first 50-mile endurance ride. Guinasso and Big Dog will compete Saturday in the 100-mile Western States Trail Ride from Squaw Valley to Auburn.

By Thom Gabrukiewicz (Contact)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Deanna Guinasso's breath is a staccato sing-song: "Hoo, hoo, hoo -- hoo, hoo, hoo -- hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo."

And it's all about the exhale.

"It's a secret -- I shouldn't tell you -- but it's exhale, exhale, exhale," said the 57-year-old Guinasso, a Redding fitness instructor, former competitive body builder and Ms. National Fitness competitor who happens to own the patent on a little piece of exercise equipment marketed as the Suzanne Somers Toning System.

"Don't even think about the inhale, 'cause you have to breath anyway. Think about the exhale and you'll blow away that negative voice that says, 'I can't.' It blows away the toxic buildup."

It even helps her horse, a 7-year-old Arabian named RGR Flashfire -- "I call him 'Big Dog,'" Guinasso said -- stay calm. Focused. Ready to run -- hard.

The pair will depart at 5:15 a.m. Saturday -- among a braying sea of a possible 250 horses -- to challenge the Western States Trail Ride, a 100-mile endurance ride with nearly 19,000 total feet of elevation in climbs and nearly 22,000 feet of descents.

"I know I can do this," said Guinasso, who has run three marathons and twice roller skated 100 miles in competition, from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. "And my horse, he's ready, too. He's going to do the climbs, and I'm going to get off and run the canyons. We're a team; he's my running partner, he's my 100-miler."

The Western States Trail Ride -- known in equestrian circles as the Tevis Cup -- is the oldest modern-day endurance ride, having been contested since 1955. The route follows the same course as the Western States 100 Run that was contested on June 23-24.

The ride was first organized by Wendell Robie, an Auburn businessman and dedicated equestrian, according to the Western States Trail Ride Foundation Web site. People in the 1950s doubted a horse could cover the trail from Lake Tahoe to Auburn in a single day. Wendell and some friends proved otherwise. He continued to hold the ride annually and also organized the Western States Trail Foundation to preserve the 100-mile trail and the ride.

A horse and rider who complete the race in 24 hours -- and is found fit to continue -- wins a silver belt buckle. The rider and horse that complete the course in the fastest time win the Tevis Cup.

And to the rider with the fittest horse -- as determined by examination of the first 10 horses to cross the finish line -- goes the Haggin Cup (first awarded in 1964 to Paige Harper, riding his 6-year-old Arabian gelding, Keno).

"Arabians are the body builders of the horse world," Guinasso said. "Superior genetics, greatly developed lung capacity. I've got my preference and I wanted a good horse, so I got an Arabian -- coming from the body building world, I want to be buff, too."

Despite pushing horse and rider to the limit, Western States Trail Foundation organizers focus not only on the rider's health, but on the health and well-being of the horse. There are several veterinarian checks, as well as mandatory rest stops. If the horse can't continue, your day is done.

"You have 24 hours to Git er done,'" Guinasso said. "I'm ready. I'm ready to do well.

"And my horse, he's ready, more than ready."

For more information on the Tevis Cup, and to keep track of Guinasso and Big Dog's progress in real time, visit www.foothill.net/tevis/index.html. Guinasso's bib number is 83.

Reporter Thom Gabrukiewicz can be reached at 225-8230 or at tgabrukiewicz@redding.com.

JPN: Horse.TV Shining Moon Coverage

Horse.TV has completed their report of the first FEI 160k ride in Japan.
Video images of the 2007 Shining Moon 100 are available at the Japanese Horse.TV website.

Short version - including interviews for the top three riders after the ride.

Long version – 30 minutes Horse.TV regular monthly program (July) including other horse related news in Japan and studio interview with Tamotsu Sasaki, the winner of the Shining Moon ride. In Japanese only. You could still enjoy video images from this program.

APEX Mini-Clinic at AERC National Championship

APEX Mini Clinic

APEX: A Partnership for Endurance Xcellence

AERC National Championship
Aug. 24, 2007
11-1:30 pm

I. APEX Concept: Troy Ball, APEX President
II. Progressive Conditioning: John Crandell III
III. Question and Answer w/ brown bag lunch: John, Stagg, and Troy
IV. Planning and Pacing for a Quality Ride: Stagg Newman

John Crandell, III 2006 US “Triple Crown” winner – the Old Dominion, the Tevis Cup and the National Championship, John is a dedicated international competitor and trainer who develops high performance strategies for the elite endurance athlete.
Stagg Newman Stagg has earned national championships and international gold medals. His horse, Ramegwa Drubin, was the 2003 Hall of Fame inductee; Stagg and his current horse, Jayel Super, have won Old Dominion four times (including 2007); and Stagg recently served as the 2006 president of the AERC.
Troy Ball National championship winner in other disciplines, Troy has completed her first year in endurance with two Best Conditions and a gold medal. She offers her fresh outlook and dedication to advancement as a founding member and president of the APEX team.

APEX Mission Statement
Partnering in training and academic advancement to achieve the highest performance levels in endurance horses, riders, and teams.

www.apex-us.org

USEF: FEI/National Passports waived for CEI* and CEI** events

July 17, USEF:

The below Extraordinary rule change proposed by the USEF Endurance Technical Committee was approved. The result is that Endurance will be exempt from needing FEI or National passports for 1* and 2* events.

CHAPTER 8 - EXHIBITORS, RIDERS, DRIVERS AND HANDLERS

GR802 Duties. [Chapter 8. Exhibitors, Riders, Drivers and Handlers]

[Note: This is a revision to a rule change scheduled to take effect
12/1/07]

6. U.S. Competitors competing in their own country in an FEI- sanctioned event, not requiring an FEI Passport, must present a valid USA National Passport or a valid FEI Passport. Exception: Endurance Minor Events.

Big Horn 100: New basecamp a success

2007 Ride Report from Teddy Lancaster (Runningbear):

Antelope Butte is the new BH base Camp. Everyone loved it here. No dust, plenty of room and grass AND, LOTS cooler!!!! First loop was a lollipop up to a spot just past Horse Creek and looping back to have the riders doing the first and last 12-13 miles on the same trail. Second loop went up to Jack Creek (19 miles), looped 11 miles) around back to Jack Creek with the last 19 miles the same as the first going backwards. I do not think the ride is much easier, but we did not have the awful heat of the lower camps, and it was great to come back to Antelope Butte for Halfway.
Lyle was great as always, along with 2 other vets. No one seemed to have a problem finding trail.
Frankly, I LOVE this ride and if it stays up here I think it will still remain a "challenge" without the "worry".
All in all, I think the ride was a success and I sure hope it brings more back for nest year and the years to come.
Teddy

See Bighorn 100 website for photos and results